Recipes: Menudo vs Afritada vs Mechado vs Kaldereta

Battle of The Iconic Tomato-Based Dishes: Menudo vs Afritada vs Mechado vs Kaldereta 

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How to Cook Menudo 
How to Cook Afritada 
How to Cook Mechado 
How to Cook Kaldereta 

Battle of The Iconic Tomato-Based Dishes: Menudo vs Afritada vs Mechado vs Kaldereta 

Riddle me this: What Filipino dish is cooked with a tomato base, made with simmered meats, and is a big favorite in get-togethers like fiestas, birthday parties, and the likes? 

Is it Afritada? Perhaps it’s Menudo. Wait, how about Mechado or Kaldereta? 

Well, the answer is all of the above. These four quintessential dishes share close similarities, but also differences that make them stand out from each other. Confused about which one is which? Don’t worry, you don’t get your Pinoy card taken just yet! Know more about these favorites below. 

First thing’s first, what are the similarities and differences between these four? Well, all dishes are ubiquitous in our food culture, but they are also heavily influenced by the Spanish. When it comes to meat, traditional afritada uses chicken while Menudo is made with cubed pork or kasim. Mechado and Kaldereta, on the other hand, are traditionally cooked using beef—though goat meat can also be used for the latter. 

Ingredients-wise, all four use potatoes and carrots. Menudo uses garbanzos and pork (or chicken) liver while Kaldereta swaps the liver with liver spread. Mechado, compared to the three, also uses thicker tomato sauce on its stew. Despite the small differences, these details are what give the distinct tastes of each recipe. Close cousins or whatnot though, all four share one unifying factor: they are all perfect with rice.  

Do you want to try making these recipes now? Read on for Breville’s version of these iconic dishes below:  

Menudo Recipe

Pork menudo recipe

How to cook Menudo:  

Ingredients:  

2 tsp. annatto seeds 

1 red onion 

3 cloves of garlic 

350 grams pork kasim, cubed 

1 tbsp. fish sauce 

3 large tomatoes 

1 tsp. tomato paste 

2 pcs. hotdogs, sliced 

2 pcs. potatoes, cubed 

2 pcs. carrots, cubed 

80 grams chicken liver 

32 grams garbanzo beans, drained and washed 

1 pc. green bell pepper, sliced 

1 pc. red bell pepper, sliced 

32 grams cup of raisins 

Salt and pepper to taste 

1 cup of water 

Cooking Instructions:  

1. In a pot over medium heat, heat oil. Add annatto seeds and cook, stirring regularly, until the oil is infused with color. 
2. With a slotted spoon, remove and discard seeds. 
3. Add onions and garlic and sauté until softened for 3 mins (medium high heat). 
4. Add pork and cook until lightly browned for 5 mins (medium high heat). 
5. Add fish sauce and cook for about 1 minute. 
6. Add tomatoes and tomato paste, mashing occasionally with the back of a spoon, until softened and release juices. 
7. Add sliced hotdogs, potatoes, carrots, liver, bell peppers, garbanzo beans, raisins, salt and pepper to taste. Stir to distribute. 
8. Add water and bring to a boil.  
9. Transfer the cooking pot inside the Breville Smart Oven™ Air Fryer then slow cook (high setting) for 1 hour. Once cooked, serve with hot rice and enjoy! 

Afritada Recipe 

Chicken afritada recipe

How to cook Afritada:  

Ingredients: 

1 ½ lbs. or 680 grams chicken cut into serving pieces 

3 tbsps. cooking oil 

1 piece red onion, chopped 

2 teaspoons garlic, minced 

3 pieces bay leaves 

2 tbsps. fish sauce 

8 oz. tomato sauce 

½ cup catsup 

½ tsp sugar 

3 cups chicken broth 

2 pieces of potatoes, cubed 

1 piece carrot, sliced 

64 grams green peas 

3 pieces hotdog, sliced  

Salt and ground black pepper to taste 

Cooking Instructions:  

1. Pan fry the chicken. Set aside once done.  
2. For the sauce, saute sliced onion and garlic.  
3. Add bay leaves.  
4. Add the cooked chicken. 
5. Add a dash of fish sauce, then cover and leave the dish to simmer.  
6. Add tomato sauce, catsup, and tomato paste.  
7. Add sugar and mix everything together.  
8. Pour the chicken stock.  
9. Bake everything in the Breville Smart Oven™ Air Fryer at 425F for 45 minutes. 
10. Add potatoes and carrots.  
11. Add green peas and sliced hotdogs. Cover and simmer. 

Mechado Recipe 

Mechado recipe

How to cook Mechado:

Ingredients:

300 grams fatty beef

¼ cup soy sauce

Calamansi juice

Pepper and salt

2 medium-sized potatoes

3 tbsp. olive oil

1 medium onion

3 cloves of garlic

¼ cup of tomato sauce

¼ cup beef broth

1 red bell pepper

2 bay leaves

Cooking Instructions:

1. Slice fatty beef brisket into cubes. Marinate in soy sauce, calamansi juice, and freshly cracked black pepper for at least 30 minutes.
2. Fry the sliced medium potatoes.
3. Heat olive oil and saute the onion and garlic.
4. Add the beef and cook until browned.
5. Add the tomato sauce and beef broth. Bring everything to a boil.
6. Add the fried potatoes.
7. Add the red bell pepper.
8. Add salt to taste.
9. Add the bay leaves.
10. Slow cook in the Breville Smart Oven™ Air Fryer until beef is tender (approximately two hours).

Kaldereta Recipe

Slow braised beed kaldereta recipe

How to cook Kaldereta: 

Ingredients:  

400 grams beef chuck 

3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced 

1 red onion, peeled and chopped 

1 tomato 

1 tsp. sweet paprika 

1 tbsp. tomato paste 

2 tbsps. soy sauce 

1 cup beef stock 

1 cup tomato sauce 

1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce 

1 large potato 

1 medium-sized carrot 

1 piece red bell pepper 

1piece green bell pepper 

1 tbsp. liver spread 

1 tbsp. strawberry jam 

1 siling labuyo 

2 tbsps. green olives, pitted 

Salt and pepper to taste 

Cooking Instructions: 

 

1. Heat olive oil in a cooking pot. Saute minced onion, garlic, tomatoes until fragrant. 
2. Add paprika powder, beef and tomato paste. Saute for 5 mins or until the beef browns. 
3. Add soy sauce. Pour in tomato sauce, beef broth and worcestershire sauce and let it boil. 
4. Add cubed potatoes, carrots, green and red bell peppers, liver spread, strawberry jam, green pitted olives and minced siling labuyo. Stir to distribute.  
5. Set the Breville Smart Oven™ Air Fryer to slow cook (high setting) function and transfer the pot into the oven. Slow cook for 2.5 hours. 
6. Once the beef is tender, transfer it into a plate and serve with hot rice. Enjoy!  

Why slow cook and bake your dishes?  

With Mechado and Kaldereta traditionally being made with tougher meats like beef and goat, slow cooking them helps tenderize the meat to make the dishes extra palatable and easier to enjoy. Similar to baking, it also helps enrich the flavors of dishes because the slow and simmering cooking time brings out more flavor notes in the dishes. Not to mention, these two cooking methods are also healthier than the usual deep fry because they bring out natural oils and lessen your use of them while also limiting the formation of cancer-causing compounds in the process.  

Breville smart oven air-fryer

Do you want to elevate the way that you do your Menudo, Afritada, Mechado and Kaldereta? Try slow cooking or baking them with Breville’s Smart Oven™ Air Fryer! This versatile kitchen partner from the premium home lifestyle brand checks off all the boxes of a smart cooking partner with its Element IQ system that helps give you the ideal cooking environment and wide range of cooking techniques. More than just being an air fryer, you can also use it to toast breads, make crumpet, grill, bake, roast, warm, and slow cook your dishes to name a few! On top of that, this kitchen essential also uses dual-speed convection that speeds up cooking time by 30 percent! 

Give your favorite recipes a special twist by adding the Smart Oven™ Air Fryer to your collection of kitchen buddies. You can know more about the product by checking on this link. Don’t forget to keep updated on Breville’s new product releases and helpful recipes by following its official website, Facebook, Instagram, and Tiktok accounts! 

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